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Many of us have worn it, and others have surely seen it — the iconic pro-life “Precious Feet” pin. But what’s the story behind this symbol?
In the early 1970’s, Dr. Russell Sacco, a urologist from Oregon at the time, was aware of abortion prior to Roe v. Wade because of those who were speaking out on the topic.
It was shortly after this that Sacco met a pathologist who was also anti-abortion. This pathologist “… was supposed to take the children that had been killed and destroy the bodies. But he told me that he didn’t do that; he just didn’t like to do that.”
Dr. Sacco said that this pathologist had preserved the babies’ bodies in a bucket of formaldehyde, which he showed Sacco. “… [I]n the bucket were about seven or eight infant bodies. It was a little bit shocking for me to see that but, there they were.”
Dr. Sacco asked the pathologist if he could photograph the babies “so that I could put it on slides and I could go around and give talks on how we should save and protect the prenatal children.”
The image, which Dr. Sacco refused to copyright so it could be used worldwide, has been referred to as “Tiny Feet,” “Little Feet,” and “Precious Feet.”
But it was in Dr. Sacco’s meeting with Dr. John Willke that this photograph became famous.
Willke has been described by some as the father of the pro-life movement; he founded Cincinnati Right to Life in 1970, and later joined National Right to Life’s board. In 1991, he founded the Life Issues Institute and served there until his death in 2014. A tribute published by National Right to Life says Willke, a devout Catholic, “helped form the foundation of right-to-life educational efforts through the development of the ‘Willke slides’ on fetal development and abortion…”
In the early 1970’s, Dr. Russell Sacco, a urologist from Oregon at the time, was aware of abortion prior to Roe v. Wade because of those who were speaking out on the topic.
“I knew as a doctor that abortion kills children, they kill human beings,” he stated in an interview published on Vimeo.Dr. Sacco said he began reading “anatomical books,” and when the Supreme Court ruled that murdering the preborn was “legal,” the doctor became, in his words, “furious.”
It was shortly after this that Sacco met a pathologist who was also anti-abortion. This pathologist “… was supposed to take the children that had been killed and destroy the bodies. But he told me that he didn’t do that; he just didn’t like to do that.”
| Dr. Sacco’s image of aborted baby |
Dr. Sacco asked the pathologist if he could photograph the babies “so that I could put it on slides and I could go around and give talks on how we should save and protect the prenatal children.”
| Dr. Sacco’s image of aborted baby |
Dr. Sacco said he took out “one body at a time” to photograph them. Then, he catalogued each child and their estimated ages.
“Then, one of the ones I decided to take was one that I would hold just the child’s feet between my fingers,” which Sacco says he did for scale. “So, I put my fingers on that so that you could identify the size of my hand – then you could identify the feet of the children.”After developing the film, he discovered that the images of the feet were “better than I had thought. I really thought that… maybe God did that one for me.”
The image, which Dr. Sacco refused to copyright so it could be used worldwide, has been referred to as “Tiny Feet,” “Little Feet,” and “Precious Feet.”
| Dr. Sacco’s picture of aborted baby feet |
Willke has been described by some as the father of the pro-life movement; he founded Cincinnati Right to Life in 1970, and later joined National Right to Life’s board. In 1991, he founded the Life Issues Institute and served there until his death in 2014. A tribute published by National Right to Life says Willke, a devout Catholic, “helped form the foundation of right-to-life educational efforts through the development of the ‘Willke slides’ on fetal development and abortion…”
Dr. and Mrs. John C Willke (Photo: Cincinnati Right to Life Tribute Video)
In 1971, Dr. Sacco attended a speech given by Dr. Willke to the California Pro-life Council. After the event, several attendees and organizers were sitting and chatting in the hotel. 
Dr. Willke sat on the floor next to the couch due to a lack of seating in the room, and directly behind him was Dr. Sacco. Dr. and Mrs. Willke recounted what happened next in their book, Abortion and the Pro-life Movement, an Inside View:
Almost casually he [Dr. Sacco] said to Jack [Dr. Willke], “You might be interested in a few slides I’ve taken. ” He fished into his briefcase and came out with a few Kodachrome slides.
One by one, Jack held them up to the light of the lamp. One of them was “Tiny Feet.” Jack was fascinated. Could he have a copy? Could he use it? Dr. Sacco generously agreed.
Dr. Willke used that image in his book Handbook on Abortion. Following that, the picture was printed in early pro-life brochures such as “Life and Death” and “Did you Know?” The photo soon “went viral,” as they say, and was published in countless flyers, books and pamphlets.
Almost casually he [Dr. Sacco] said to Jack [Dr. Willke], “You might be interested in a few slides I’ve taken. ” He fished into his briefcase and came out with a few Kodachrome slides.
One by one, Jack held them up to the light of the lamp. One of them was “Tiny Feet.” Jack was fascinated. Could he have a copy? Could he use it? Dr. Sacco generously agreed.
Dr. Willke used that image in his book Handbook on Abortion. Following that, the picture was printed in early pro-life brochures such as “Life and Death” and “Did you Know?” The photo soon “went viral,” as they say, and was published in countless flyers, books and pamphlets.
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